Feature Highlight

Airlines

Vol. 4 Issue 11 | November 2013 | www.travelweeklyweb.com | Published by Travel & Meetings Group, Contineo Media Pte Ltd

The Indispensable Travel Industry Read

Southeast Asia’s fi rst

Dreamliner Page 13

Hotels

Vietnam’s Nha Trang Bay

hot in demand Page 15

Booking travel

The deal is sealed

From left: Christian Göke, CEO Messe Berlin, organiser of ITB Asia and Lionel Yeo, chief executive, Singapore Tourism Board

SINGAPORE – Starting next year and for the next three years that

follow, you can expect an even stronger conference line-up at ITB

Asia. The deal was sealed on October 25, 2013, with the signing of a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Singapore Tourism

Board (STB) and ITB Asia.

This year, the show delivered over 3,850 minutes of high powered

content over 20 sessions led by industry partners.Leveraging the

efficiencies and valuable synergies surrounding both platforms, this

enhanced partnership with STB promises new content for the show

by harnessing collective insights from top industry leaders to uncover

more business opportunities and provide an even more effective

knowledge sharing platform for travel professionals.

“Our aim and focus for ITB Asia is aligned with that of STB to

build a platform that facilitates the exchange of insights to discover

new trends and celebrate Asian tourism at its best. Working with STB

to gather travel professionals and business leaders from the entire

spectrum of the industry will help us generate even more strategic

networking, business and collaboration opportunities to drive more

quality buyers and visitors to the show,” said Nino Gruettke, executive

director of ITB Asia.

ITB Asia aims to provide visitors with the latest insights and

practical knowledge on the travel industry. Each year’s conference

programme boasts a strong line-up and is specially tailored to address

the latest developments, challenges and trends across the travel

industry.

“Since ITB Asia started its run in Singapore six years ago, it has

been a fruitful partnership between Messe Berlin and the Singapore

Tourism Board,” said Lionel Yeo, chief executive, STB. “As an

organisation, we look for partners that can challenge us, and who

are prepared to be challenged by us. Our belief is that this spirit of

mutual motivation will raise our game and push boundaries. Messe

Berlin is one such partner, hence I’m optimistic about this continued

partnership and I look forward to more collaborations to provide

greater value and exceptional experiences.”

The ongoing collaboration with ITB Asia and STB has added to

the breadth and depth of relevant Asian-focused content available.

One such example is the Future Leaders programme, a new strategic

initiative that was launched last year to address the need to attract

new talent in the travel and tourism industry.

The second edition comprised a half-day conference titled “Future

Leaders – Building Quality Tourism Careers” organised by Messe

Berlin and STB in partnership with Nanyang Technologial University

and Hospitality Club. ITB Asia, STB and UNWTO also came together

once again to organise a panel discussion on salient trends of key

Southeast Asian outbound markets.

Turn to page 3 for more on ITB Asia 2013.

8 in 10 APAC travellers

use online to research hotels

4 in 10 APAC travellers use online

to share experiences of their last trip

5 in 10 APAC travellers use video in the research process

4 in 10 APAC travellers use mobile to research hotels

5 in 10 travellers in APAC book hotels online

3 in 10 APAC travellers post about their hotel

on social networks during their trip

www.travelweeklyweb.com

www.travelweeklyweb.com

NOVEMBER 2013 | TRAVELWEEKLY ASIA ■ | 7

PEOPLE

Jon Bourbaud takes over as GM of Bagan LodgeMYANMAR – A new face

arrives on the scene in Myanmar’s

ancient capital this month as

Apple Tree Asia welcomes Jon

Bourbaud as general manager of

Bagan Lodge.

Bourbaud br ings a lmost

two decades o f hosp i ta l i t y

industry expertise to the newly

opened upscale resort, located

just outside the historic Bagan

Archaeological Zone.

The 85-room boutique lodge

is the latest destination post for

the 46-year-old Aussie native,

who has carved out a career at

the helm of leading heritage, golf,

beach and city properties across

the five-star Sofitel Dalat Palace

Hotel . Bourbaud makes the

jump from Vietnam to Myanmar

fresh off a three-year stint as

general manager of La Veranda

Resort in Phu Quoc, an MGallery

Collection hotel.

S i tuated 300 k i lometres

southwest of Mandalay, Bagan

Lodge’s stylised tented guest

rooms and landscaped grounds

are are only a stone’s throw from

more than 2,000 ruins, temples

and shrines that formed the

capital of the ancient Kingdom of

Bagan.

Bourbaud is conversant in

English, French and Vietnamese.

Austral ia , New Zealand and

Vietnam.

Bourbaud holds a diploma

in Hotel Management and a

certi f icate in Catering from

Melbourne’s prestigious William

Angliss Institute. He began his

career as an executive chef for

Novotel hotels in Auckland and

Brisbane, and spent a year as

executive chef at the Mercure

Hotel Sydney before uprooting

for Vietnam in 2001.

F r o m 2 0 0 1 t o 2 0 1 3 ,

Bourbaud scaled the ranks of

senior management in leading

hotels across Vietnam--from F&B

director of the Duxton Hotel

El Kwang joins The Star, SydneySYDNEY – The Star, Sydney

welcomes well known tourism

and events professional El Kwang,

who joined the team this week in

the position of director of Sales.

H o l d i n g s e n i o r s a l e s ,

marketing, business development

and management positions at

Dockside Group, Accor Hotels

and Doltone House, Kwang

returns to Australia bringing

with him a wealth of knowledge

and experience of local and

international markets.

His most recent ro le as

Vice President for Business and

Tourism Publishing Asia, gave

Kwang invaluable insight into

the region’s thirst for Australian

products and experiences.

“I’m very excited to be joining

the dedicated, customer-focused

team at The Star. I look forward

to sharing my experiences from

previous roles in Australia and

my recent stint working and living

in Asia, to help further develop

the offering of this dynamic

property,” said Kwang.

With a reputable career

gained over 15 years in the

tourism, hospitality and events

industry, Kwang embodies the

personal i ty and pass ion for

the industry that Jakki Temple,

genera l manager , Sa les and

Marketing sees as the perfect

combination for The Star.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to

have El joining the team. As an

industry leader and past colleague

of mine, his passion for the

industry and his creativity make

him a valuable addition to our

team,” said Temple.

Saigon, to executive assistant

manager of the Novotel Phan

Thiet Ocean Dunes & Gol f

Resort, to general manager of

BANGKOK– Alan Ball has been

appointed as the director of Sales

and Marketing for Six Senses

Laamu. He will be London-based.

With extensive experience

in similar senior roles with top

properties in the Maldives, Alan

brings a wealth of destination

and product knowledge to

the role. Throughout his well

travelled career Alan has built

a nd l ed t e ams focu sed on

increasing growth through sales

Allan Ball is Six Senses Laamu’s new DOSMmanagement engagement. His

earlier background experience

a lso inc ludes trave l agency

sales with the UK offices of

A b e r c r o m b i e & K e n t a n d

Gulliver’s Sports Travel, thus

rounding out his hospitality and

tourism knowledge.

"We are very pleased to

welcome Alan to Six Senses

Laamu and look forward to his

leadership in this key role," said

Marteyne van Well , general

manager of the resort.

" S i x S e n s e s L a a m u h a s

tremendous opportunity and

A lan ' s demonstra ted t rack

record of sophisticated sales and

marketing execution will help

us accelerate our growth and

achieve our fi nancial performance

goals. Our investment in sales

and marketing resources will

drive growth in existing as well

as new geographic and vertical

markets."